Rockland County Board of Health Facing Opposition on Fluoridation

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NEW CITY, N.Y., Dec. 2 — Fluoridation of the local water supply to reduce tooth decay in children a measure that has stirred turmoil in many communities — has suddenly erupted into a major public issue in Rockland County.

The county's Board of Health, which has the power and apparently enough votes to order the measure into effect in all public water supplies in the county, is facing pressure from the County Legislature and front an organized group of fluoridation opponents not to do so.

The issues are not unlike those that have come up elsewhere. While health authorities generally support fluoridation as both beneficial and harmless to the public, opponents seek to link it to serious health problems, including cancer.

It is the kind of battle was fought in New York City for many years, until the city finally adopted fluoridation in 1965.

A proposal to mandate fluoridation in Rockland came before the County Board of Health in 1975 but was not adopted. But last Nov. 15, after some changes in the board's makeup and after some urgings by county health officials, the matter was taken up again, and this time it passed—or, at least, so it was thought at the time.

It turned out that the seven‐member board had acted without issuing proper advance notices, so the 4‐to‐1 vote — one member abstained and one was absent—did not count.

Now the board is going to take the matter up again, on Dec. 20. Opponents are optimistic that some of its members can be persuaded to change their position. There is talk of lawsuits against the board and its members if they do not.

One of the main opposition groups is the Citizens for Health Freedom, a pro. laetrile organization whose president is a Pomona resident, Sandy Green. Mrs. Green, the mother of three grown children, says her group has 500 county residents among its members.

“.we are attempting at this point to make the board members aware of information that has come out in the last couple of years,” Mrs. Green said. “It shows that fluoridated water is definitely linked to at least 10,000 cancer deaths each year.”

Mrs. Green's group plans to testify before the vote is taken at the Dec. 20 board meeting.

The County Legislature, mean while, voted 15 to 1 on Nov. 22 to express its upposition to fluoridation. It also scheduled a public meeting on the issue, although it has no direct role in the decision process.

One of the legislators, Diane Beljean of Pearl River, a Conservative and an opponent of fluoridation of the water, threatened to seek a “restructuring “ of the board if it votes in favor.

Marie Naismith, president of the board, said the threats did not bother her.

“We talk to others, and we find there's a lot of quiet support for fluoridation,” she said. Mrs. Naismith, one of the four members who voted in favor of the flouridation proposal, predicted that all four would vote the same way again “unless something drastically new comes out to change our mind.”

A sampling of feelings showed a wide variety of views among residents. Some had no opinion at all.

In one typical comment, Betty Ekizian of West Nyack asserted that she was against “mass fluoridation.”

“If people want to fluoridate at home,” she said, “they can do so with a doctor's prescription. Those who don't want fluoridation for their children or themselves should not be subjected to it.”

The measure is supported by the county's Dental Society, whose president, Dr. Allen L. Finkelstein, called fluoridation “one of the most effective methods” of fighting tooth decay in children.

George O'Keefe, assistant county health commissioner, estimated that would cost 230,000 consumers of four water supplies in the county $3 each initially and $1 to $1.50 each a year after that to pay for the fluoridation equipment and for its operation.

A version of this archives appears in print on December 4, 1978, on Page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Rockland County Board of Health Facing Opposition on Fluoridation. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe